Opinion
A25A0538
10-22-2024
HAKIM LOFTON v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Hakim Lofton was convicted of murder and other crimes. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed his convictions on appeal. Lofton v. State, 310 Ga. 770 (854 S.E.2d 690) (2021). Back in the trial court, Lofton filed an extraordinary motion for new trial and a motion for default judgment. The trial court denied both motions, and Lofton appeals to this Court.
The Supreme Court of Georgia has appellate jurisdiction over "[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed." Ga.Const of 1983, Art VI, Sec VI, Par III (8) Because a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court See OCGA § 16-5-1 (e) (1); Neal v State, 290 Ga 563, 572 (722 S.E.2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C J, concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 S.E.2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer "all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder"), overruled in part on other grounds as recognized in Elliott v. State, 305 Ga. 179, 205 (III) (C) (i) (824 S.E.2d 265) (2019). The Supreme Court's jurisdiction over murder cases includes appeals from orders resolving post-judgment motions in such cases. See Simpson v. State, 292 Ga. 764, 764 (740 S.E.2d 124) (2013) (appeal from denial of motion attacking murder convictions as void).
Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court of Georgia for disposition.